What were they thinking?

[nanofrog]

I think its the 3rd time they have made this mistake. It seems Apple doesn't leanr from history.

At least it's only the connector this time, and not a completely different spec.

Electrically speaking, it's the same as DisplayPort, so the adapters are simple at least. Hopefully it won't be too expensive now that it's been adopted by VESA. Still not fun if you have to go out and buy one.

 

[m1stake]

Not in my experience. I personally can't think of one ProTools engineer that isn't Mac based. I've dealt with a lot of them. Apart from Final Cut, a good chunk of Avid systems run on Macs. You only seem to be talking about 3D animation work that's mainly PC based. Most of the AV world run on Mac.

Apple used to cater to a professional market. But with this release especially, it's obviously targeting people who are tired of their PowerMacs. This new model is a pretty good one for them besides being $700 too expensive. On the professional side, it seems as if you're better off buying the early 2008 unless you can afford to spend a minimum of $5,000+ on your computer.

This is great for those targeted, but I was expecting an upgrade that was in line with the early 2008 upgrade. This bump is a slight bump, but more importantly it's one hell of an expensive bump that's incredibly hard to justify.

 

[ManukM]

I think HDMI is better.

Also people think monster cables aren't better, well they are. I have a $400 panasonic blu-ray player and the 10 gb/s hdmi cable doubled the picture quality over standard hdmi cables.

Does it, really? I was wondering about that. I didn't think there would be noticeable difference between the kinds of hdmi cables. I should give it a try.

 

[nanofrog]

Apple used to cater to a professional market. But with this release especially, it's obviously targeting people who are tired of their PowerMacs. This new model is a pretty good one for them besides being $700 too expensive. On the professional side, it seems as if you're better off buying the early 2008 unless you can afford to spend a minimum of $5,000+ on your computer.

This is great for those targeted, but I was expecting an upgrade that was in line with the early 2008 upgrade. This bump is a slight bump, but more importantly it's one hell of an expensive bump that's incredibly hard to justify.

I agree.

It seems the professional is getting lost in the shuffle. The DIMM slots alone... Just too expensive for what you get.

 

[iBunny]

I really wanted a Mac Pro. I even am prepared to spend this large amount of $$$ on the Octo. But I am not. I cannot justify buying this thing with the severly crippiled Video card options. I can handle the $5000 price tag. But I cannot handle a slow video card.

The GT 120 is a joke. Hell even the ATi 4870 is a Joke. How old is this card now? Where are my NVidia 285's and 295's here? We get top of the line Intel CPU's that arent even out yet, a awesome OS, a sweet case, but last generation mid to low end graphics.

WHYYYYY?

 

[sidewinder]

I really wanted a Mac Pro. I even am prepared to spend this large amount of $$$ on the Octo. But I am not. I cannot justify buying this thing with the severly crippiled Video card options. I can handle the $5000 price tag. But I cannot handle a slow video card.

The GT 120 is a joke. Hell even the ATi 4870 is a Joke. How old is this card now? Where are my NVidia 285's and 295's here? We get top of the line Intel CPU's that arent even out yet, a awesome OS, a sweet case, but last generation mid to low end graphics.

WHYYYYY?

Because it is not a game machine, that's why. What, besides games, would you run on your Mac Pro that would need more than what the Radeon 4870 has to offer?

S-

 

[Ploki]

And 800 is SO bad for you because? Or is the $5 adaptor just too much?

I dont get WHY 400 is STILL the standard, its ridiculous at this point.

fw800 cables/connectors are just sloppy.
fw400 has a sturdier connection.
i hate fw800 connections.. everything feels like *CHINA*

 

[Ploki]

Because it is not a game machine, that's why. What, besides games, would you run on your Mac Pro that would need more than what the Radeon 4870 has to offer?

S-

Maya?

 

[sidewinder]

Maya?

Maya needs processing power and a lot of fast memory. It doesn't need the fastest gaming video card.

S-

 

[Horst]

Maya needs processing power and a lot of fast memory. It doesn't need the fastest gaming video card.

S-

I don't know about Maya, but Cinema 4D needs cores, CPU power, RAM and benefits greatly from a fast GPU for live previews .

 

[ppc750fx]

I don't know about Maya, but Cinema 4D needs cores, CPU power, RAM and benefits greatly from a fast GPU for live previews .

Yeah, but only up to a point. The actual final renders, etc. are all done on the CPU -- the GPU is great for previewing, and a fast one will indeed make your workflow speedier -- but once you've got enough GPU horsepower, upping it even further won't help much.

 

[Chaos123x]

..... nice try, but i will never touch windows ever again. I would rather die!

BTW if i was to ever leave mac, I would go to linux, never windows.

I feel the exact same way!

Pro work on a Windows box is just that bad. (at least without a I.T. team backing you up)

 

[mcavjame]

Does it, really? I was wondering about that. I didn't think there would be noticeable difference between the kinds of hdmi cables. I should give it a try.

HDMI cables have to meet a digital specification. They either meet that spec and work, or don't meet the spec. Paying top dollar won't increase the picture quality. It may be a better built cable, but that is where the value will end.

There is no noise to clean up with digital, so I am wondering how the previous poster is measuring the improved performance.

 

[mcavjame]

Apple TV does have an HDMI connection and it's not the only choice. Component is just as good if not better, or so I've heard

That is correct. Just because HDMI is a newer technology, does not make it a better technology. I like HDMI for the sole reason of cable simplification behind my media cabinet.

 

[danny_w]

HDMI cables have to meet a digital specification. They either meet that spec and work, or don't meet the spec. Paying top dollar won't increase the picture quality. It may be a better built cable, but that is where the value will end.

There is no noise to clean up with digital, so I am wondering how the previous poster is measuring the improved performance.

Digital signals are most definitely subject to noise, but unlike analog signals that noise makes it either work or not work; there is no in between. If a digital signal is noisy, then the digital receiver may flip-flop between the work and no work situations, but there is no "noise" effect as in analog tv (snow). A better cable may have better shielding and provide a cleaner signal, which may allow that signal to be transmitted over a longer distance without degradation, however.

 

[Fomaphone]

the new HDMI spec should be out in several months... it's the reason i'm waiting to buy a decklink HD card.

smaller connector, ethernet, and increased bandwidth.

 

[dimme]

..... nice try, but i will never touch windows ever again. I would rather die!

BTW if i was to ever leave mac, I would go to linux, never windows.

At my job (high end print shop) we have Mac, Windows and Linux boxes. And Linux is not ready for prime time. If you make one little change or add a device it can be a all day affair to get it going. If I had to give up my Mac, Windows would be the only choice. Linux is fun but it is not for the average work environment.

 

[Gloor]

Maya needs processing power and a lot of fast memory. It doesn't need the fastest gaming video card.

S-

Not true, viewport depends only on gpu.
Rendering is CPU and RAM but you need that at the end of each project usually. Faster viewport is what makes your workflow quicker and for that you need good GPU.

 

[mBox]

Yes I use old XLR Cables, BNC Cables, RCA's.

Old lights, old Microphones.


Pros prefer rugged stuff that lasts.

Least most Video Pros I know.

LOL our Studio is an orgy of all that plus new tech If it works, dont throw it away I say

 

[mBox]

At my job (high end print shop) we have Mac, Windows and Linux boxes. And Linux is not ready for prime time. If you make one little change or add a device it can be a all day affair to get it going. If I had to give up my Mac, Windows would be the only choice. Linux is fun but it is not for the average work environment.

hmm thats funny at my work, If I screw around with the PC set-ups we get the same roll the dice results. and were talking high-end Dells and BOXX 3D workstations here

 

[bilbo--baggins]

For video? Firewire 400 my friend.


For other stuff? E-sata



Nope don't need Firewire 800 really.

I have the new unibody MacBook Pro which has only Firewire 800. Just think of it as being a UNIVERSAL Firewire port - if you want to use it for Firewire 400 devices just buy a cable with a Firewire 400 connector at one end and a Firewire 800 connector at the other end. Much better than having antiquated Firewire 400 ports. You just need to buy some new cables - that's all. My Canopus video capture device and my Apogee Duet both are Firewire 400 devices and work fine with the Firewire 800 port.